drussell@crowell.com

London

David Russell is an associate (barrister) in Crowell & Moring’s London office and a member of the International Dispute Resolution Group. He advises on all aspects of English civil litigation and international commercial arbitration, and is a practising barrister with full rights of audience before all English courts.

David has acted for clients in complex and high-value disputes involving civil fraud, product liability, defamation and breach of contract. He has experience across multiple industry sectors, including financial services, insurance, media and automotive.

Before joining the firm, David completed pupillage at a leading set of commercial chancery chambers, prior to which he spent a year as the judicial assistant to Sir Geoffrey Vos, Chancellor of the High Court. In both capacities, he was exposed to a broad range of commercial, financial services, fraud, trust and probate disputes in the English High Court and Court of Appeal, as well as various matters concerning the nature and scope of legal professional privilege. 

As a law student, David was awarded the Lord Mansfield Scholarship, Hardwicke Entrance Award and Buchanan Prize from Lincoln’s Inn; the Provost’s Award for Excellence from the University of Law; and the City University/1 Chancery Lane Prize for Tort Law.

Prior to his legal studies, David spent several years as an investment banker working on international mergers and acquisitions and capital raisings, and obtained the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He is accustomed to dealing with complex financial evidence and never loses sight of the commercial context when advising on the law.

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Affiliations

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Representative Engagements

• Representing an engineering company in international arbitration proceedings against its main contractor on a construction project, the total value of which (including claims and counterclaims) exceeds £50 million.
• Acting for a global trade finance fund in its £15 million constructive trust and unjust enrichment claim in the English High Court against a counterparty to one of its borrowers.
• Defending a leading national newspaper against a defamation claim in the English High Court.
• Acted for Dana UK Axle Limited (a UK subsidiary of global automotive equipment supplier Dana Incorporated) in its product liability claim in the English High Court against Freudenberg FST GmbH, one of its component suppliers.  After a successful application during trial to exclude the Defendant’s technical expert evidence ([2021] EWHC 1413 (TCC)), the Court found fully in Dana’s favour, awarding it more than £11 million in damages (the entire amount claimed) and an indemnity for future losses, as well as interest and costs ([2021] EWHC 1751 (TCC)).
• Acted for a multinational trade credit insurer in: (i) defending a breach of contract claim brought against it in the English High Court; (ii) bringing a counterclaim against the insured for breach of its duty of fair presentation under the Insurance Act 2015; and (iii) ultimately agreeing a settlement with the insured.